By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
RV/#25 Fort Hays State (6-2, 6-2 MIAA) at
Lincoln (1-7, 1-7 MIAA)
Saturday, November 2, 2019 – 1 pm
Dwight T. Reed Stadium – Jefferson City, Mo.
Fort Hays State Football hits the road this weekend for a road contest at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. FHSU enters the game 6-2, while Lincoln is 1-7. The Tigers are looking for their seventh straight win after an 0-2 start to the year, and their seventh straight win in the series history with the Blue Tigers.
The Tigers look to stay alive in the conference championship race and NCAA Playoff picture. FHSU is two games back of MIAA-leading Central Missouri and just one back of second-place Northwest Missouri State. If the Tigers are going to make the NCAA Playoffs for a third straight year, winning their final three regular season games is most likely the only option. FHSU enters this week ranked No. 9 in the Super Region 3 rankings. The top seven in the super region will make the NCAA Playoffs and the Tigers have seven teams with one loss or less in front of them, as well as a two-loss Missouri Western team that they lost to early in the season.
Fort Hays State and Lincoln are meeting for the first time since the 2013 season, the last year Lincoln was a member of the MIAA before coming back into the conference this season with the departure of Lindenwood. The Blue Tigers played as members of the GLVC from 2014-2018 while absent from the MIAA in football. FHSU won that 2013 meeting 45-35. FHSU has traditionally seen close battles with Lincoln. The previous three meetings between FHSU and Lincoln in MIAA play were decided by 10 points or less, all going to FHSU in the win column.
Offensively, the Tigers have scored at least 30 points in six of eight games this season. FHSU is coming off a 37-31 win over Nebraska-Kearney at home last week. The Tigers are averaging 37 points in four road games so far this year, scoring at least 30 in all four.
Lincoln began the season 0-6 before claiming its first win of the year over a winless Northeastern State squad in Week 7 by a score of 27-9. The Blue Tigers have allowed at least 38 points in all seven of their losses this year. Lincoln is coming off a 56-9 loss at Northwest Missouri State last week. Running back Hosea Franklin accounts for over 50 percent of Lincoln’s total offense. He is the only player in the MIAA with over 1,000 rushing yards this season with 1,048 through eight games. He averages 131 yards per game on the ground.
Chance Fuller is the triggerman for the Tiger offense. FHSU ranks 10th in the nation in passing offense, averaging 314.3 yards per game through the air. Individually Fuller averages 306.5 passing yards per game, which ranks ninth in NCAA Division II. He has 2,452 passing yards with 25 touchdowns so far this year. Harley Hazlett, Manny Ramsey, and Layne Bieberle have been a triple threat of targets for Fuller. Hazlett leads the team in receiving yards with 673, followed by Ramsey with 596 and Bieberle with 589. Charles Tigner leads the Tiger ground game with 643 rushing yards, going over 100 yards in a game three times this season.
Defensively, Drew Harvey leads the Tigers in tackles with 69, followed by Tanner Hoekman with 67 and Jordan Starks with 64. The aforementioned trio has six of the team’s 10 interceptions this season. Sheldon Schmidt continues to lead the team in sacks with three.